Aptha Rakshaka - Movie Review/Vishnuvardhan, Vimala Raman, Avinash, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Sreenivasa Murthy, Komal, Ramesh Bhat

Kannada superstar Vishnuvardhan's 200th and last film Aptha Rakshaka is already storming the box office ever since its release on February 19. The film released in nearly 120 screens across Karnataka. The film has grossed nearly Rs. 5 crores in just four days of its release. The film is expected to gross more than Rs. 40 crores net in 100 days. If the run continues, Aptha Rakshaka will replace Mungaru Male, which was the highest grosser in Sandalwood so far.

Aptha Rakshaka, the sequel of Apthamitra (which was remade in Tamil as Chandramukhi with superstar Rajinikanth in the lead), is directed by P. Vasu and Gurukiran has scored the music. Coincidentally, Soundarya who starred in Apthamitra, passed away in a plane crash a few days before its release in 2004 and now, Vishnuvardhan passed away before the release of the sequel.

What is it about?

In Aptha Rakshaka, the director has retained only three characters from its original - the psychiatrist Vijay, Nagavalli and Ramachandra Acharya. However the storyline seems to be inspired from the original version.

The story begins with a painter's death, after a painting of Nagavalli is taken away. A family in Mysore headed by Shrinivasmurthy is disturbed by the painting, he contacts Ramachandra Acharya (Avinash) for help. The Acharya finds out that the root of the problem lies in the painting of Nagavalli bought by one of the three daughters in the family , Saraswathi (Lakshmi Gopalswamy). Acharya in turn approaches Captain Vijay (Vishnuvardhan), a psychiatrist, to solve the problem. How he unveils the mystery forms the rest of the story.